A step-by-step plan for SDRs working towards their first AE role. Find the right opportunity, learn from people doing the job, build your case and prepare for the interview.
You do not need another list of generic tips. You need a useful action, a reason to take it and a way to know what comes next.
01
INTERNAL PROMOTION
Build a case your manager can act on.
Clarify the target. Confirm criteria, readiness, headcount and timing as separate questions.
Learn the work. Talk to AEs, test what you hear and choose useful work in your current role.
Build the proof. Apply feedback, record your contribution and ask for a readiness decision.
Prepare and follow through. Use the actual interview process, then assess the next step or offer.
02
A ROLE AT A NEW COMPANY
Give your search a clear next action.
Choose viable openings. Match the role to your evidence, constraints and actual requirements.
Understand the job. Research the buyer and test your view with a rep or recruiter.
Create the opportunity. Tailor your application, ask for referrals thoughtfully and show relevant work.
Run the process. Prepare for confirmed stages, follow up and compare any offer with your priorities.
Each route has eight detailed actions. Each action includes why it matters, what to do, a message to adapt, questions, an output, a completion check and a way forward if you are blocked.
A WORKED STEP · NO SIGNUP
A conversation is useful. What you do with it matters.
This is how the roadmap connects real-world learning to your next action and the answer you will eventually give.
INTERNAL ROUTE / STEP 03EXCERPT FROM THE ROADMAP
THE ACTION
Speak with an AE who recently made the move.
Why: find out what changes after promotion, then choose something you can apply in your current role.
A message you can adapt
“Hey [name], I’m working towards an AE role and wanted to ask about your move from SDR. Have you got 15 minutes next week? I’m especially interested in how you find time to prospect once you’re running your own deals.”
Ask for something concrete
“What took more time than you expected in your first few months?”
“Walk me through a recent week. Where did your pipeline come from?”
“Looking back, what would you have started practising while you were still an SDR?”
Replace the details with your real situation. Keep the request short and give them room to say when they’re free.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT · FICTIONAL WORKED EXAMPLE
“Our AEs source their own pipeline.”
01 / CHECK
Maya asks the hiring manager whether AEs on the team still do their own outbound. They do. Now she knows prospecting will need a regular place in her day.
02 / BUILD
She agrees a four-week test with her manager: ten priority accounts each week and an hour of prospecting each day. Her AE helps check which accounts have a real reason to talk now.
03 / PRACTISE
She practises explaining the test: “Six of the nine meetings I booked came from those lists. Looking at the accounts with my AE gave me a much clearer idea of who to call each morning.”
Teaching example, not a customer result. The product guides the work; it does not invent achievements or verify your readiness.
That is one step. Both complete routes and the Interview Kit come with the roadmap.
Read in your browser, download the files, and do the work in the tools you already use.
01
The action reader
Choose your route and current step. Read the instructions, capture notes for the action and export them as text or an action tracker.
BROWSER READER · TEMPORARY TAB NOTES
02
Your working files
A complete print-friendly HTML guide, 11 editable worksheets, outreach and follow-up messages, and three CSV trackers for opportunities, actions and actual interview stages.
HTML + TEXT + CSV · ONE ZIP
03
The Interview Kit
15 worked answers, six AE scenarios, a five-story worksheet, a ramp plan, interviewer questions, a cue sheet and three guided practice tracks.
INCLUDED · US$49 STANDALONE KIT
Your notes stay in the open tab.
Download them before leaving to keep your work. The reader does not save drafts between visits, write answers for you or score your readiness. This is a complete self-guided product; no coaching purchase is required.
See the exact roadmap download files
START-HERE.txt
First-AE-Roadmap-Guide.html — open in a browser and print if you wish
Roadmap-Worksheets.txt — 11 editable templates
Outreach-and-Follow-Up-Messages.txt
Opportunity-Tracker.csv
Interview-Stage-Tracker.csv
Action-Tracker.csv
The included Interview Kit has its own PDF guide, Word/text tools and online reader. The roadmap’s guide is HTML, not an additional PDF.
CHOOSE WHAT YOU NEED NOW
Interview coming up? Or building towards the role?
Both are one-time purchases. The roadmap includes the complete Interview Kit.
Start with the included Interview Kit’s direct preparation route. The roadmap also has a fast route to confirm the stage, choose evidence, practise a pressure point and build a cue sheet. You can return to the broader career plan later. If interview preparation is all you need, the US$49 kit is the focused choice.
What if there is no internal opening?
The internal route helps you separate readiness from headcount, agree a review date and decide what evidence is still useful to build. You can also use the external route. The product cannot create an opening or promise a promotion date.
Is this coaching or an AI platform?
No. It is a self-guided digital product with instructions, examples, editable tools and a browser reader. No live coaching, personal answer grading, automatic company research, reminders or job placement is included.
Can I use it for several companies?
Yes, for your own preparation. Keep a separate copy of your role brief and tracker for each opportunity. The browser workspace is temporary; export your notes before refreshing or closing. Your downloaded files can be edited in your own tools.
Will this get me an AE role?
It gives you a practical way to take relevant actions and prepare evidence-backed answers. Hiring depends on your experience, the employer’s needs, openings and the process. There is no job, interview or promotion guarantee.